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Friday, 23 May 2014

Magic Mike Procter

Mike Procter was one of the finest all rounders of all time. He finished with a Test bowling average of just over fifteen, scored 30,000 first class runs and picked up nearly 2000 wickets. A legend not only in his native South Africa but also at Gloucestershire, a county he represented for sixteen years, he is one of the most popular players of all time. He even caused the treasurer of my own cricket club (and a Gloucestershire nut) to bunk off school to watch the televised semi final versus Hampshire, as he picked up six wickets including that famous hat trick. If Mike had not played during a time when South Africa were banned from Test cricket, there is no doubt he would have amassed over a hundred caps for South Africa. Recently we caught up with Proccie and he told us about the excellent work he is doing now with his foundation, cricket under apartheid rule and that famous game where the South African cricketers made a stand against the government. Read on, as we interview one of the finest the game has ever seen...

Proccie in 1971

TMS: Firstly, as a man who has played for and
coached South Africa, been named one of the top ten all rounders of all time by
ESPN Cricinfo and one of their Legends of Cricket, a legend down in
Gloucestershire as well as in Natal, a man who has taken numerous hat tricks
and often enjoyed a hundred before lunch, been a match referee so therefore it
must be a massive privilege for you to be interviewed by the Middle Stump?

MP: Not
so sure about a privilege, I had a sneak peak at these questions you want to
ask me. I think I am being stitched up here.

TMS: What are you up to these days?

MP: I have
launched a foundation to take care of some seriously underprivileged children.
Not only are the majority of them Aids orphans but a lot have been abused due
to a lack of proper parenting.

TMS: Tell us a bit more about the foundation?

MP: I
have been working with the good people at Ottawa Primary for 3 to 4 years now
and when I first got involved I was shocked by the lack of support offered to
these young kids. As orphans they are reliant on their school for their one
meal a day, which was difficult enough to provide, but there was not even a
mention of a sports programme. Ex Natal cricketer Rodney Malamba and myself
were committed to helping these young kids to overcome the adversity of their circumstances
by implementing a sports programme and teaching them cricket. The foundation
has been set up to raise funds to create awareness of the plight of young
children everywhere. We seek to assist schools who have similar challenges to
Ottawa and to implement a sports programme and a community feeding scheme that
empowers the children and their communities. All help and assistance is always
greatly appreciated.

TMS: Any batsman panned you all around the
ground and you thought, I don’t want to bowl at this guy?

MP: Never ever, I always
tried to find a way. I never bailed out. In fact I once bowled to Graeme
Pollock when he ended up with a huge score, a bigger hundred than even my
figures represented. The further he hit me the faster I tried to bowl and the
more I wanted to bowl. I think I bowled unchanged after Tea and ended with
figures of 34 overs 0 for 140 odd. I was in peak condition at about 19 years
old but the next day I could hardly get out of bed.

TMS: The South African team of the 70’s had a
lot of quality players. How good do you think they would have been, even taking
Packer out of the equation?

MP: Australia came to SA in 1970 having beaten India,
thereby under the current rankings, we would have easily been rated the number
1 team in the world. We not only beat the previously triumphant Aussies in all
four test matches but we did it by huge margins. That shows how good we were,
bearing in mind that they were considered the best at the time, having retained
the Ashes in England, beaten the West Indies at home and won a series in India.

TMS: Do you regret being born in the era that
you were? Say for instance you were born later you would be the modern day
Jacques Kallis?

MP: Kallis is a special player, a once in a lifetime cricketer, but
he never had the advantage of seeing the world's greatest leader come through
the most terrible adversity to rise to power. Nelson Mandela became my ultimate
hero as I closely witnessed his challenges through the Apartheid years and
ultimately his nation building powers that saved our country. I wouldn't trade
that for anything.

Mike's hero

TMS: You walked off the pitch once in protest
against apartheid. What happened there?

MP: We kind of knew our test playing careers were over at the time and instead of
just accepting our fate we wanted to make a stand. We were not going to play
that game but we needed the public to support us in this stand against the
government. Charles Fortune advised me that we should start the game as the
public had paid good money to watch us, and then make a statement about our
views, it would have far more impact and it would keep our supporters happy. It
worked well as we, the cricketers of South Africa, had the opportunity to
express our views which were that all players, of any colour, should be able to
play for South Africa and that all players should be picked on merit, not the
colour of their skin.

TMS: Do you go back to Bristol much?

MP: Yes every now and again, I am back there this
summer for a game that Gloucestershire are hosting for my foundation on the
27th June. I am really excited about it and the impact the fundraising is going
to have on the kids.

TMS: How good were those hat tricks?

MP: How much
better can you feel, amazing? The B&H Semi final Glos v Hamps in 1977 to
get to the final was the ultimate.

TMS: We noticed that one of the hat tricks was all lbw. Did you do the old trick of standing at square leg
between your overs and buttering up the umpire?

MP: Of course, as captain you
always field at square leg don't you???!!!

TMS: Didn’t you take two in two weeks once?

MP: I
don't recall unfortunately

TMS: Your action was very chest on, and must
have put a lot of stress on the body. How are the knees these days?

MP: A lot of
stress on the body is the understatement of the century. I have got bad
shoulders and damaged knees now. I have had 2 ops on each shoulder, 5 ops on
the right knee, including a replacement, and 1 op on my left knee, in fact I am
going in for surgery next week Friday, for a torn cartilage that needs to be
removed.

TMS: What was it like being a match referee in a
Test match?

MP: The important thing to understand is you must be very fair to both
sides in whatever disciplinary action you have to take, and I was involved in a
few.

Lord's...Proccie's fave ground and for good reason

TMS: What is it like playing in a one day final
at Lord’s?

MP: Absolutely fantastic, what amazing occasions. One of the other
reasons is that we won both the finals.

TMS: What were you taught against protecting
yourself from the sun earlier in your career?

MP: Never thought about it apart from
wearing a cap

TMS: What do you think of the work Melanoma UK
do in educating young cricketers against the dangers of over exposure to the
sun?

MP: Can't answer the question as I spend most of my time in SA but kids must
protect themselves against the sun these days.

TMS: Best food on the circuit back in your day?

MP: Bristol, very cold ham and very cold lettuce with a potatoe

TMS: Favourite ground to play on?

MP: Lord's is my
favourite cricket ground in the world, in fact I am unbeaten there, 1970 ROW v
England Test Match won, 1973 Gillette Cup Final Glos v Sussex won, 1977 B&H
Final Glos v Kent won final as captain, 1991 One Day Final Northants v
Leicester won as director of cricket, 1994 England v South Africa Test Match
won as SA coach. Apart from it being an unbelievably special place, you can see
why its my favourite ground.

Bristol...cold ham, lettuce and a spud

TMS: Best three youngsters coming through?

MP: David
Miller, Quintin de Kock and Virat Kohli should break tons of records.

TMS: What does the future hold for Mike Proctor?

MP: Looking forward to furthering the outstanding efforts of the foundation and the
kids it will benefit. One last thing too.... NO MORE OPERATIONS

Mike, you have been an absolute star and we wish you the very best with the foundation.